Holder for calcium carbid.



No. 645,!52. Patented Mar. I3, I900. E. L. WHITE & W. M. GILBERT.

HOLDER FOR CALCIUM GARBID.

(Application filed A a-[28, 1898.) (N o H o d a l Witnesses.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

EDIVIN L. IVHITE, OF NEi/V YORK, N. Y., AND WILLIAM M. GILBERT, OFW'ATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS TO GEORGE H. CLOWES, OF

\VATERBURY, CONNECTICUT.

HOLDER FOR CALCIUM CARBID.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,152, dated March13, 1900.

Application filed April 28, 1898.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWIN L. WHITE, residin g at New York, (Brooklyn,)in the county of Kings and State of New York, and WILLIAM M. GILBERT,residing at Waterbury, county of New Haven, State of Connecticut,citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Holders for Calcium Carbid, of which the following is aspecification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to receptacles for holding calcium carbid of sucha character that they can be rendered air and moisture tight for holdingthe material preparatory to its use in a lamp burning acetylene gas, canbe placed in the generating-chamber of such a lamp and utilized for thegeneration of gas until all of the carbid therein is exhausted, and canthen be removed with its contents, the resultant lime, .and thrown away.

The object of our invention is to provide a receptacle of this naturewhich can be manufactured at a slight cost, which can be quickly andeasily charged with a given quantity of carbid and then securely sealedagainst air and moisture, which will hold the carbid therein in acompactmass, which is not liable to be disturbed by movement or jolting of thereceptacle, and which will contain means for evenly distributing wateradmitted to said receptacle to said mass in such manner as to produce aneven and regular generation of gas until all of the carbid has beenutilized.

To these ends our invention consists in the receptacle constructed andoperating as hereinafter fully described,and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals designate like partsin the several views, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a receptacleembodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof with the cover orcap removed. Fig. 3 is a partlal vertical section of a slightly-modifiedform of receptacle embodying the invention.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral 1 designates the body of thereceptacle, which is preferably of circular form, as shown, said bodycontaining a lining 2, which engages Serial No. 679,082. (No model.)

the inner side of the vertical wall thereof and projects above said wallto the top of the receptacle, and 3 designates a cover or cap whichclosely fits over said lining and rests upon said body 1 to close thereceptacle. Upon the bottom of the body 1 rests a disk 4, having acentrally-located circular opening, into which projects the lower end ofa tubular core 5, which core extends to the top of the receptacle and isthus maintained in a central position therein. An annular chamber 6 isthus formed between the core 5 and the lining 2, within which is placedthe calcium carbid, as represented in Fig. 1, the same being preferablyin loose form-that is to say, not formed into a hardened cake. Above thecarbid is a disk 7, having an opening to receive the core 5, whereby itis adapted to be pressed down upon the carbid and to be retained in suchposition by its frictional engagement with the lining 2. in said disk 7is of slightly-greater diameter than that of the core 5, thus affordingsufficient space to permit the escape of the gas when generated. Thecover 3 has a central opening 8, which is normally sealed by aneasy-puncturable sheet 9 of paper or other suitable material pasted tothe inner side of the cover and closing said opening.

The receptacle thus constructed is preferably composed'of-paper-board orsimilar cheap material, and it is used as follows: After the desiredquantity of carbid has been placed in the annular chamber 6 and the disk7 has been forced down upon the same the cover 3 is applied to the body1, and the line of juncture between the body and cover is sealed bycovering the same with a strip of paper and coating it with a suitablewaterproof materialsuch, for example, as paraffin. The receptacle andits contents are then ready to be sold as an article of manufacture. Toapply the receptacle to a lamp, it is placed in the generating-chamberthereof, and the drip-tube, which conducts water from thewater-reservoir to said chamber, is thrust through the sealing-strip 9,as represented by broken lines in Fig. 1. The lamp is now ready for use,and as soon as the valve governing the flow of water through saiddrip-tube is opened the The opening water thus admitted to the interiorof core 5 permeates the wall thereof and, moistening the carbid, causesthe latter to begin its generation of gas, the latter escaping throughthe space between the core and disk 7 and through the opening Sin thecap around the drip-tube. Such operation continues until the supply ofwater is shut oit or until the gas-producing properties of the carbidhave been exhausted, the receptacle in the latter case being withdrawnfrom the lamp and thrown away and a new receptacle substituted therefor.

The carbid being confined within the annular space 6, as described, isprevented from movement however much the receptacle may be jolted, andthe water being fed thereto in an even and regular manner through thecore 7 5 an even and steady flame at the burner is assured at all times,thus rendering our re ture proof receptacle is in convenient form to bemarketed and to be carried about the person or in the tool-bag of abicycle-rider, for example, ready for use when needed. It can be readilyplaced in and removed from the lamp, the resultant lime being removedwith it, thus preventing the lamp-chamber from becoming fouled from suchcause.

As before stated, we prefer to form the receptacle from paper-board orother similar material; but, if desired, the body and its cover can bemade of tin or other sheet metal, and in Fig. 3 we have shown a portionof a body 10 so formed. In this case instead of using a disk 4 at thebottom of said body to form a joint with the lower end of the core thebottom of said body has a centrally-located raised projection 12, whichis adapted provided with a central depression of the proper diameter toreceive the end of the core with substantially the same result. The core5 also instead of being formed from an absorbent material such as wehave described could be made from metal or other non-absorbent material,with perforations therein to permit the passage of water therethrough,as represented by the core 13 in Fig. 3; but as these modificationsincrease the cost of the receptacle without increasing its efticiency weprefer to make it as first described.

Various other modifications coming within the scope of our inventionwill suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A receptacle consisting of a body having an annular chamber forholding calcium carbid, a centrally-located, tubular core extendingupwardly from the bottom thereof, and an annular disk surrounding saidcore which is adapted to rest upon the carbid in said chamber, and toretain its position thereon while the said carbidis expanding, said bodyhaving a removable cover which is provided with a central opening, saidopening being closed by an easily-punctured closure, substantially asdescribed.

2. A receptacle comprising the body 1 having the lining 2, tubular core5, and disks 4 and 7, and the cover 3 having the opening 8 andeasily-punctured closure 9, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we affiX our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

EDWIN L. WHITE. VILLIAM M. GILBERT. Witnesses:

GEORGE E. HALL, EDWARD S. GOODMAN.

